Syrian armed opposition may be ordered by its foreign sponsors to stage a false flag operation against foreign inspectors when they arrive in the country to monitor destruction of the country’s chemical weapons stockpile, says the Syrian president.

Bashar Assad voiced his concerns in an interview by China's state
television CCTV in Damascus. The Syrian leader proposed this
possible scenario as he was explaining how his government may be
accused of trying to dodge its obligations to destroy its
chemical arsenal.

“We know that these terrorists are obeying the orders of other
countries and these countries do drive these terrorists to commit
acts that could get the Syrian government blamed for hindering
this agreement,” he explained.

Russia brokered an agreement with Syria to dispose of its
stockpile of chemical weapons amid US threats to use military
force against Syrian army over alleged use of sarin gas, which
killed an estimated 1,400 people in August.

Moscow expects the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical
Weapons (OPCW), which received detailed inventory of the Syrian
arsenal last week, to prepare a deadline for the operation. It
also plans to work with other members of the UN Security Council
on a resolution, which would support the OPCW plan and provide
for security of the inspectors, who would control the
disarmament.

But Washington, London and Paris are insisting on a UNSC
resolution which would involve punitive measures against Damascus
for any possible hindering of the operation under Chapter 7 of
the UN Charter. Chapter 7 allows for the enforcement of Security
Council resolutions with military action. Russia opposes such
provisions.

Speaking on the UNSC debate, Assad said the three Western powers
are fighting an ‘imaginary enemy’.

“By submitting the draft to the UN Security Council, or by
urging the US and Russia to agree on a deal, the US, France, and
Britain are just trying to make themselves winners in a war
against a Syria which is their imaginary enemy," he said.

The president said he was assured that Russia and China would
"ensure any excuse for military action against Syria will not
stand."

Asked for details on the stockpile of chemical weapons, Assad
said, “Syria has been manufacturing chemical weapons for
decades so it's normal for there to be large quantities in the
country.”

The WMD arsenal was created due to Syria’s confrontation with
Israel, the Syrian leader said.

"We are a nation at war, we've got territories that have been
occupied for more than 40 years, but in any case, the Syrian army
is trained to fight using conventional weapons," Assad
assured.

While admitting that the security situation in Syria is far from
perfect for the work of OPCW inspectors, Assad said the weapons
are safe from being captured by any party.

They are stored “under special conditions to prevent any
terrorist for other destructive forces from tampering with them,
that is, destructive forces that could come from other
countries,” he said.

"So there is nothing to worry about. The chemical weapons in
Syria are in a safe place that is secure and under the control of
the Syrian army."

Earlier China said it is willing to send experts to contribute to
the OPCW’s mission to destroy Syria’s chemical weapons. Russia
pledged its assistance, which would probably involve securing
locations where the stockpile would be processed.